Savvy Raj

Live Life Lovingly!


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Behind the Apparent

Story behind the photographs

Yesterday I posted a verse that came to me inspired by these captures. Here is the link https://wp.me/p6a0yZ-4CX

There is more to these photos…

While visiting Lourve Museum in France and while walking around those endless galleries of amazing artists and their creativity galore, my eyes turned to a glassdoor near the flight of steps.
I chanced upon this wonderful sculpture on the roof top of the facade, reaching out to the yonder as if to tell something… I filled in the blanks.

Sometimes we are so deeply caught in the maze of life around us.
But if we only care to look beyond it all, we are inspired to see so much more.

Art is in the way you see life.
Art is all around us and is but a perspective of the nuances.
All you need is the heart to appreciate.

Savvy


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Beautiful piece of sky!

Photo by Savvy Raj

@ Louvre Museum Paris.

Oh beautiful piece of sky!
Lighting our heart with liberty!

Forage in us the spirit of freedom.
Let us breath in the beauty of openness.
Let us witness the ethereal light across the horizon.
Let us rejoice in your dance of abundance.

May you bless us every day
Painting our hearts with hope.
And let us live in love.
In gratitude and good energies.

Savvy


No room for I, Me & Myself

In a world that is literally shrinking globally,
In a world where respect for cultural diversity,
Is paramount to humanity.
In a world where inclusivity is a necessity,
In a world where businesses are adopting empathy driven approaches.
In a world where love, kindness and faith is needed much more than ever,
In a world that is changing states quo…

There is need for all of us to come together.
There is need to value connections.
There is need to understand each others vulnerabilities.
There is need to be inclusive in the diversity.

When we move beyond the I
And envision the Us
When we see the world as ours than mine.
When we care to collaborate together,
In mutual respect of the differences
When we acknowledge the strength of unity in the diversity.
When the, Me and Myself
Shifts to Us beyond the Mine.

Artic Circle Rovaniemi Santa Claus Village. Image Credits Deepa Rajesh

The world will evolve for the better of all.
Let’s know, how interweaved we are!
For that’s where our true strength lies
In this very interconnectedness.
No matter the distance of space or time.
So, in a world where it is right now
There is no room for the I, Me & Myself anymore.

Savvy


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The Creative Flow

Curvy Road of Ideation to Solutions

When creativity is put to test…

The process of creation to finding targeted solutions in the world of products to services is a long and winding road in creativity. The general assumption is that of a direct and linear way to creativity. While one thing leads to another it is not always a straight linear road.

It is the very nature of creativity to retrace, rewind, edit and reframe until it makes sense.

Non judgmental understanding and
empathy is crucial to creating solutions.
It is important to set aside ones own assumptions to gain understanding of another’s perspectives and needs.

To brainstorm you need a direction so it is important to give a clear sense of flow and the perspectives gained in understanding and emphasizing with the needs, helps to streamline the flow of thoughts towards ideation.

Ideation is a result of many thoughts, many questions, in analysis, synthesis and deductions.There are so many paths in the process of creative ideation like for instance…

Brainstorming : This is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members.
BrainWriting : Another collaborative creativity concept at work. Here the ideas are all recorded by the creator and then passed on to the next person who can use it as a trigger for their own set of ideas..

The Worst Possible Idea : This is a creative design thinking technique where team members seek the worst solutions in ideation sessions. This eases the pressure and boosts the confidence of the team to challenge assumptions and find better and better ideas

SCAMPER : This is an acronym and each letter stands for a thinking technique: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse.

It is important to know what to focus and what to let go as there will be many plenty of ideas that may come up in the process of ideation. Hence keeping focus on what the actual problem is, helps in finding solutions to address and resolving it.

Then comes the part of checking out whether the ideas are actually a perfect solution by examining the quality checks, fault testing and cross questioning so that the idea can be then accepted or rejected as a solution.

New issues can come up that can challenge the process flow. There would also be new opinions and opportunities to explore and refine more.

So however curvy or zig zag the truth is, the road is full of potential and myriad possibilities in the making. Such is the truth of the creative flow.

Sounds like a good idea?

Savvy


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Every Face Tells A Story

A story plays on in every face.
Every face fascinates me.
I love to understand what the face expresses
A face is like an interesting book to me
Linger a little longer and you are hooked.

There is a reason for every line & dot.
Every thing connects to their story of life.
A face speaks volumes about the person
Beyond the many masks it may have on.

A face emotes the truth of the being
Eyes may shine a light of their own
The nose may crinkle
The brow may arch up
The forehead may crease
And the mouth may shape itself in myriad ways

There is much there to fathom
And unravel the depths of the being
Every contour has a reason to be
Every flinch & every twitch tells more.
So much more to learn
Every face tells a story.

Savvy


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When Creativity Dares

Today I complete my 500 days of writing consecutively here on WordPress, with my 500th post. Special and heartfelt thanks to all my readers and followers who have supported me in this journey of writing.

I would like to mark this day by writing about one of my favorite topics Creativity.

Creativity is fueled by the fire of passion. Often instinctual and deeply captivating, it is an expression of your innate potential. With it you are in touch with your deepest core. You are consciously awakening to the infinite abundance within, in every channelling.

Creativity spurts in the most unexpected ways.

It surges forth a river of possibilities

It amplifies the potential within

It leads you to rethink and challenge the norms.

It dares to question the accepted and projects perspectives.

It explores and creates paths for evolution.

It defies conventions to envision out of the box ideas.

It justifies the necessity of freewill through the art of movements

To create resolutions in times of confusion and chaos.

To manifest simplicity in times of complexity.

To innovate and change the statuesque in times of staid compliance.

To design and redesign towards efficiency and effectivity of purpose.

When creativity dares it is in communion with infinite abundance.

It is creativity that stokes the fire

It is creativity douses the flames.

Creativity has a solution for every problem.

Savvy


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Life & Living

All one needs to do

Is experience the journey

Cos the destination

Takes care of itself!

Savvy


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Picture of poignancy

Vincent” is a song by Don McLean written as a tribute to Vincent van Gogh. It is also known by its opening line, “Starry Starry Night“, a reference to Van Gogh’s 1889 painting

The Starry Night.

McLean wrote the lyrics in 1971 after reading a book about the life of van Gogh.

Strikingly poignant.
It touches me every time I hear this song.
Brilliantly picturised on Vincent’s artworks.
The song by Don McLean is poignant yet peaceful in itself.

The mood mellow and sombre.
The truth is stark of reality.
Listen to this evening song
Literally speaks to the depth of our souls
Million thoughts runneth over
Amid the arresting hues of blues.
Until sleep beckons curtains are drawn.
Life poses the questions.
And life seeks the answers.
Poignant is the wisdom that arises in the challenges.

Can never tire of hearing this beautiful song.

Savvy


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Nurturing nature.

All it took is a random picture,

And it bought me immense peace.

Simply seeing it made me feel so good.

Sharing it here and hoping it infuses the same serenity I feel in seeing it, to you readers.

There is something grounding in the giving.

There is something nurturing about nature.

There is something compassionate about caring.

There is something gladdening about green living.

There is something enabling in our environment.

There is trust & faith in nurturing life.

There is connection in the care…&

There is hope in every heartfelt share.

Savvy


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The tree speaks for itself…

The tree above signifies the connection

Of how the microscopic characteristics

Relate to the macroscopic structures.

The tree speaks for itself…

Overall ensuring a form and identity

That speaks of structure and integrity

That can withstand stress & pressure

Erosion & the aging processes.

The tree perhaps is shriveled & stark

Within its roots the winter wilts its will

Yet the tree upholds itself in tenacity

Branching out to balance itself.

Standing strong and proud

In the autumn of life

In being all it needs to be.

The tree speaks for itself.

Savvy


When Simplicity Speaks

On black and white photography.

What is it about the black and the white

That evokes much emotion

In all its simplicity and elegance?

Monochrome has a surreal magic

That captures your attention

Strangely beguiling almost misleading

For it blurs the truths that appear

In the vividity of colour.

Yet it provides a stark definition

Devoid of any colour, yet not lifeless

It emotes through simplicity

Through the play of light and dark

Creating sensibilities and sustaining drama.

Both evocative and enigmatic in its elements

Inspite of the hidden hues.

Retaining charecter.

Reminiscent of old world charm

Of a translucent transparency.

A simplification of the complexity.

A composure of composition.

A completeness of capture.

Savvy


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Waltzing on ice.

Can you waltz on ice?
When winters turn grim and cold
Can you create joy and cheer?
Even in moments of melancholy.

Can you see a silver lining of hope?
In the dark dreary night to help you cope
Can you see beauty in every dusk and dawn?
Letting go of fear & doubts in the twilight hours.

Can you instill trust in another & move in faith?
Inspite of not knowing the way as yet.
Can you believe you can lead the way?
Inspite of being in a maze in the now.

Verily you are stable in balance

And you have taken your stance.

Clearly then you are dancing in this moment.
Clearly you are waltzing on ice.

Savvy


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Sweet moments.


Sometimes life gives you beautiful memories where you least expect it from.
 Or maybe all happens for a reason.
We were meant to meet!


A month back, work took me all the way to China. And while some industry visits were happening as scheduled, a  small moment of connection and conversation resulted in great joy and camaraderie.
Met some very beautiful and loving hearts. We warmed up almost instantly with each other. We shared much about our cultures, our food and traditions.
We spoke to each other from the heart all with the help of a translator app.
It was such a beautiful flowing conversation. We circumvented language barriers although I spoke in English into the app and them in Chinese. It hardly came in the way. By the end of it what mattered was the joy that emerged. The beautiful moments shared will always be treasured in my heart.

Thankful to the useful translator app that made it so simple. And helped create fond memories of that day!


Savvy


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Heaven knows

Came across this beautiful picture share

And couldn’t help take a second glance

Credits go to the photographer fully for this amazing photograph.

Leaving me to question in awe

Is this a piece of heaven on earth?

Leading me to another question

Is heaven in a piece of your soul

Sought to be sighted in some faraway land?

Perhaps it’s nearer home.

Not milky ways away.

Heaven is the gasp of breath you take.

Heaven is in the tree of life.

Heaven is full of hope and wonder.

Heaven grounds you home or leaves you awestruck.

Heaven speaks from the heart.

For heaven knows …

Have you found your piece of heaven?

Trust yourself you will know it.

Savvy

Image credits to the unknown photographers


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Meeting Personalities

Meetings are great learning spaces…

Here are some interesting observations from office group meetings.

Office meetings are no different
From groups of human getting together
Human behaviour has an extensive range.
From shy to extroverted, bold to introverted
Myriad patterns of personalities
Manifest in business meetings.

There are those totally in charge
Setting the tones driving the agenda
There are those who are out to showcase skills at every opportunity.
There are others who are peacebuilders.
There are facilitators who are also great delegators.
They are resourceful in the absence of a leader.
There are those brimming with enthusiasm.
They are the ice breakers who reduce tensions.
There are the creativity enhancers.
They step beyond the box and think.
They can bring tangible and intangible to light.
They can be ambiguous or realistic in views.
There are contributors who just say a few words which make people rethink.
They may have voiced their opinion only after much thought.
There are those who blether on and on without consideration for others.
For, they love to be the centre of attention.
They forget it is a meeting with a time & agenda.

Then there are the team players who actually enjoy meetups.
They are adaptable, versatile and happy to help.
They are the bond that binds one and all.

They are juxtaposed with the reserved and silent ones.
They are those who are uncomfortable with the attention.
They are the wallflowers who may have many views but are quiet in a group.
They are great to tap into to hear alternate views.

Have you noticed those who are physically there in a meeting but yet not there?
They are lost in a realm of their own
They are wanderers who are free spirits actually.
They hate to be restrained in one space for even a while.
There is just one issue they hardly pay attention and hence may be unproductive at meetings.

Have you also met the pessimistic who always think it won’t work?
They can bring down the spirits and the morale of an entire team.
There are also the argumentative who always have a counter view without thinking.

Then come to the detail-oriented
Who never leave anything to chance.
They come prepared and are diligent.
They are at risk of seeming too intense.
They, however, can pinpoint the errors.
Their questions can bring clarity to the team.
Finally, there are those who rarely attend.
They saunter in without an agenda.
They have no idea what the meeting is all about.
They have never bothered to find out either.
They still can be channelised through proper directions.

Lastly, let’s watch out for perpetual latecomers.
They always may come in full of excuses but with the right interventions & time management skills.

They can be great contributors…

How many of these types have you observed in your office meetings?

Every person is unique, & likewise, every meeting is thus equally unique.
Through a positive approach, when utilized in the right way for the right skills…
Everyone can then, greatly contribute to the productivity of a meeting.

Savvy